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"One for the girls"

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"Not for boys"

Not for Boys!

As all guys know (but don't want to think about), girls behave very differently when boys are not around. In fact they behave as bad as boys when girls are not around ? burp, fart, and bitch and get drunk with the best of us. Bridesmaids is the first film for a long time that dare go there, why most women loved it, why most men had to look away. Boys want to believe you are nice and fluffy all the time. Bridesmaids becomes the highest grossing (with the emphasis on grossing) female X rated comedy of all time in the cinema, beating Sex and the City (2008)at $312 million (although SATC edged ahead on DVD Sales). It's written by its star Kristen Wiig, a 'Saturday Night Live' gal from the Greg Apatow stable, Wiig delivering Bridesmaids producer Apatow's biggest grossing comedy to date. This is the rom-com women have been waiting for. Thirtysomething Los Angles girl Annie (Kristen Wiig) is drifting in life; her beloved cake shop closed and reduced to a sales clerk in a jewelry store after losing her love of baking. She is behind with her rent to obnoxious landlord Gil (Matt Lucas) and has fallen out with Aussie flat mate Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey). To pass the time she bonks self-absorbed muscle car driving rich guy Ted (John Harman).Spirits should be lifted when her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) announces she is to marry and wants Annie as Maid of Honor. At the engagement party we meet the other bridesmaids, Helen (Rose Byrne), Becca (Ellie Kemper), Megan (Melissa McCarthy) and the rather uncouth Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey). The well to do Helen quickly takes over planning and so gets all competitive with Annie.After a steak dinner at a cheap Brazilian restaurant and some projectile vomiting at the Bridal fitting, general hilarity ensues as the girls fail to pull in one direction as the wedding nears. During the planning a sobbing Annie meets comical cop Rhodes (Chris O'Dowd), who clicks with her but can't win her trust, Annie long since giving up on men, feeling sorry for herself because her best friend is getting married and she will be left on the shelf. She is a bit messed up like most singletons in their late thirties and the last thing she wants is guy being nice to her and her best friend is deserting her.It's fair to say this was a big hit, setting that chick flick record from a $32 million budget. Apparently the multiplexes were packed full of middle-aged women. It was their kind of humor. I did laugh at bits and the writing is cute and clever, clearly a screenplay that has been gestating in the mind of Kristen Wiig for a while and finally the right time to unleash this movie arriving. It has the feeling of being a template for future chick-flick movies, which is not a bad thing as most of the ones we get now are bloody terrible. However, I'm not a fan of gross out comedy and seeing women inflict an all out vomit carpet bombing raid of a rest room was just too much. You can feel that the puke scene was pasted in at a test screening along with quite a few others in the film to get a younger audience this film was never meant for, the romance with the IT Crowds Chris O'Dowd just as abstract. But I suppose that's the point of its success. It's different and rebellious. Its real clout is it's a more accurate representation of how women behave away from the business of attracting men, busy bitching and dragging each other down so men will always rule the world.Kristen Wiig is a powerhouse in the lead and giving it and her script it all. But the film is way too long and sags like fat and foul mouth Melissa McCarthy breasts half-way and so two different films in one, jumping from gross out comedy to study of a lonely woman. It feels very autobiographical, too, at times, perhaps a more personal script from Miss Wiig. Saying that I just about enjoyed it and fully respected what it was trying to do and I'm sure will make women and gay men laugh their pink socks off with a glass of plonk and a few friends around. But it has to come with a health warning for guys. It's certainly the freshest and rudest women's comedy for a long while

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Amusing film about a group of bridesmaids in the build up to the wedding

There had been a lot of hype surrounding this film before I settled down to watch it. Rumoured to be in a similar vein to The Hangover, I guess I was expecting a laugh a minute and some really inappropriate levels of conversation. It's not too far off it, but there's certainly something a bit predictable and stereotypical about it that was a bit of a shame. A few shining lights but just average for me.

As you can probably infer from the title, it's a film about a woman about to get married, and the women she chooses to be her close entourage for the purposes of planning everything and getting ready for her big day, including her hen do. But the focus is really on the best friend, Annie, who is so happy that her best friend Lillian is going to get married and has great plans for the build up to the wedding. However, there's a problem which comes in the shape of Helen, the recent rich friend who also has a part to play. As things progress, it's Helen who seems to have all the answers and surprises for Lillian, leaving Annie feeling left out and dumped.

Really, the plot is too small for the length of film that it is. Nearly two hours and it's all about a fe w small events building up to a wedding. There is some crass humour which is nice to see, all too often films have the men as the rude ones, but there were times here when I actually laughed out loud at some of the jokes as they really pushed the boundaries. Most of the laughs go to Melissa McCarthy as the crass and vulgar future sister in law. Her timing was brilliant. The rest of the acting was decent enough, but really she stole the show. I thought that Kristen Wiig led very well and had solid support from the rest of the girls, but the only stand out was McCarthy.

Perhaps it's that she showed the others to be just of a decent standard, but there was something that made me think I'd be happy watching any of her films. It's not every day someone like this comes along in a film, but the writers should also take credit as it's their lines she's delivering and acting.

The film is basically split into scenes that document the events organised in the build up, and focuses on the battle between Annie and Helen, with the former often losing out and her friendship with Lillian being sorely tested. The predictability sets in very early on and the laughs dwindle as the film progresses. It's easy to relate to the characters in a way, and there's nothing particularly taxing about any of it, so at some point you start getting interested in what they're trying to do, and you get annoyed for Helen and feel for Annie etc, just like they want you to. But this is a gentle feeling that doesn't ever really manifest into anything more, just sits there waiting to be satisfied by the end of the film, which does comfortably.

Ultimately, this is a character driven comedy that has its moments but is pretty average. I thought there were some decent performances and there was nothing wrong with the script as such. There was just nothing special about the vast majority of it. McCarthy stood out, but that was it. Worth a watch if it's on, but don't go out of your way to find it.

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A decent enough comedy but not as good as it is reported to be

With certain films there seems to be a build-up of expectation that will ultimately leave you underwhelmed when you finally get around to seeing it. That is certainly a sentiment that applies to 2011's Bridesmaid's. It's a film that seemed to generate a lot of positive press and just about every review for it was a glowing recommendation of the latest Hollywood generated, Wedding based Romantic Comedy. I don't normally allow myself to get caught up in the hype around films but this time I did and when Jen bought it a couple of weeks ago I was actually keen to watch one of her many Romcom's, obviously I must have had a fever.

Always The Bridesmaid

For Annie life is proving to be quite tough, she's just lost her business , her flatmates are weird, she's in a relationship with a guy that won't commit and now she's just found out her best friend has gotten engaged. Now she has to put on her happy face as her best friend Lillian wants her to be Maid of Honour and she faces tough competition for the role from Lillian's new friend Helen. From here Annie has to do all she can to make sure her best friend has a wedding to remember but the harder she tries to compete with Helen, the more disastrous things become.

A Little Predictable

The film is director Paul Feig's big screen debut and sees him move from perennial TV show director to the Hollywood big time and in truth he didn't really do anything wrong. He created a movie that flowed along nicely and with the use of the right camera angles and lighting managed to create a reasonable movie. My problem with it though was after all of the hype about how funny this film was it didn't seem to deliver. Now don't get me wrong it had some very funny moments but by and large it was nowhere near as funny as I had expected following the positive comments I'd heard about it.

The script was a collaboration between Kirstin Wig and Annie Mumolo and whilst there were some very funny scenes I thought there could have been a lot more. For example the scene in the bridal store was less funny and in fact simply rather disgusting. I think the biggest problem though was my expectations for the film and the fact it wasn't quite as funny or original as I had been hoping. There were a few new ideas but really it was a slightly different reworking of some classic concepts with a slightly new spin and whilst the film was funny it certainly didn't break any new ground.

Write The Film, Star in the Film

It seems for actors the best way to get a role that really suits your abilities is to write the film yourself and that's exactly what Kirstin Wig does here. The part of Annie fits her abilities perfectly and you couldn't imagine anyone else really getting the role right. From her efforts to impress the wrong guy Don played by Michael Hitchcock to her attempts to avoid the right guy Rhodes played superbly by the It Crowd's Chris O'Dowd. The onscreen chemistry between O'Dowd and Wig worked really well and helped to really create a plausible love interest for Annie.

The rest of the bridesmaids are made up of some very funny actresses who bring their own unique talents to the movie. From Maya Rudolph who plays bride to be Lillian to Rose Byrne as Helen and Mike and Molly's Mellissa McCarthy there is a good range of talent on show. All of the actresses cast as the other bridesmaids and the bride work well and whilst the jokes are a little predictable they do a good job in supporting Wig in the lead role and creating a memorable film, just maybe one that's not quite as good as the reviews suggest.

Worth The Hype?

My short answer would have to be no it isn't. Having read so many reviews and heard so many good things about Bridesmaids I was expecting something ground-breaking. Instead the end result is a reasonably funny romantic comedy that entertains for its slightly over 2 hour run time but never really delivers anything exceptionally funny or new. It's a decent film and one that I would recommend, but I just didn't find it to be the amazing film that I was perhaps meant to. As rom com's go it is pretty good, but just don't expect to be blown away.

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Great soundtrack but disappointing film.

This is a film only review.

All my friends told me I absolutely HAD to watch this film because it was so funny. I didn't catch it at the cinema, but found it on special offer at the supermarket shortly after the dvd release and decided to snap it up.

The film centres around Annie, a sassy blonde who's life is on a downward spiral since the failure of her cake business. With her self-esteem at an all time low, Annie finds herself in a casual relationship with a sleazebag and just can't seem to catch a break.When her best friend Lillian announces her engagement and asks Annie to be her maid of honour, things go from bad to worse for the hapless baker.

Annie, brilliantly played by Kristen Wiig, meets Lillian's new friend Helen Harris (Rose Byrne), a wealthy socialite with influential connections. Helen has appointed herself chief bridesmaid and quickly becomes Annie's rival, successfully undermining her nemesis at every opportunity.After a disastrous bachelorette trip to Las Vegas has to be aborted, Annie is demoted, and Helen takes over all the arrangements for the wedding, ruthlessly stealing Annie's ideas and deliberately pushing her enemy to the brink of a breakdown. Eventually Annie becomes so unstable that Lillian is forced to suggest that she stays away from the wedding altogether.Heartbroken and broke, Annie faces losing everything she holds close to her heart, including her best friend.

The plot ambles along at quite a slow pace, interspersed with some outrageous actions from the bridesmaids-to-be, who are all social outcasts for various reasons. There are a few genuine, laugh-out-loud moments but overall the film still falls short of being hilarious. I think all the best bits were in the trailer to be honest. Despite a strong supporting cast, including the wonderful Melissa McCarthy, Chris O'Dowd as the unlikely love interest and a truly inspirational pairing between our own Matt Lucas and Rebel Wilson, as Annie's creepy sibling house mates, the film never reaches the dizzy heights of comedy summited by, say, The Hangover or Stepbrothers.It relies too heavily on sexual innuendo and gross-out behaviour, resulting in a feeling that I shouldn't really be laughing at such juvenile humour.

After the very predictable ending, I was quite frankly deflated, having been promised but denied a belly-quivering rom-com. The soundtrack however, was awesome, featuring some great nostalgic 80's hits and prompting me to search itunes for some of my favourites.

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A fantastic comedy

I can only review the film itself, not the DVD as I saw the film on Sky the other night. I didn't fancy the film from the adverts but when nothing else was on, I ended up watching it and couldn't move after ten minutes. I'm not usually a romcom fan, which is what I expected it to be, but I loved this film!

The plot of the film is really interesting, Lillian is engaged to be married, and her best friend Annie is her maid of honour. They've been friends since childhood and are very close, but a new friend of Lillians startes butting in and overshadows a lot of Annies ideas with hers and her wealth. The jealousy of a new friend on the scene causes tension at wedding events and friction between the bride to be and her maid of honour.

The plot doesn't sound overly exciting, but the use of good ideas and quirky dialogue makes it really funny. I like the way they used the events before the wedding to demonstrate the rivalry between the bridesmaids. I love the one-liners and quirky comical script, I think this was a huge part of the film that made it so funny. I haven't laughed so much at such a realistic film in this kind of genre for a long long time.

The cast list is brilliant. Kristen Wiig who played Annie was amazing. She fell into the role fantastically and was so humerous and fun to watch. I don't think I've seen her in anything else, but I will look out for films she stars in because she did a brilliant job in this. I also really liked Rose Byrne, the actress that played the rival friend, Helen. I've seen her in a couple of other films like 28 weeks later, and I thought it was great to see her in a completely different role. She plays a good 'goodie' but played a bit of a cow fantastically. I was also shocked to see that Matt Lucas is in the film too. He doesn't have a big part but it's really good to see actors you like and don't expect to see and for the short time he's on screen, he makes you laugh.

I think the film is well written, quirky and fun. It isn't a romantic film like I expected at all, more of a comedy than anything else. If you're looking for a fun film to watch, I have to recommend this as I was in bits whilst watching it. It was brilliant. You can find this on DVD for a couple of pound on Ebay which I think is a bargain, I'm going to buy it for my collection because it is a film I could watch again and again.

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Passable

This is a film about a two friends and an ensemble cast. One friend is getting married, the other is secretly going through a crisis at her friends engagement and the film to me explores her personal crisis. The fact that it is mildly funny in places is as if by accident. This is no way near a Hangover as it just doesnt reach the same heights of insanity. There are a few notable cameos from British actors in this which I won't spoil, but all in all this is a disapointment. Kristen Wig is charming in her portrayal but not as dryly comic as she is in other movies. All in all I wish I had more to report back about this movie but it is the feeling it leaves you with. This is definitely a niche comedy as some of the comedy is subtle but does not have mass market appeal. The reason why this was celebrated was because of the captive audience latching on to the movies dryness.

Overall I was mildy entertained by this but it was too dull to say this was a laugh out loud comedy.

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Really average!

Another film review and another film I really didn't want to see! This one being a wedding based rom com sounded terrible to me however it was another free film my friends dad gave us to watch and so we thought we'd better view it!

Film Only Review:

Annie ( Kristen Wiig) has a best friend Lillian ( Maya Rudolph) who is getting married and asks Annie to be her maid of honour. Course Annie says she will, they've been friends all their lives but Annie, well she's a bit pessimistic about marriage although at the beginning of the film she has a sex buddy who thinks more of himself than her and makes it clear when they've finished having sex she isn't wanted. Its simply just a sexual relationship however Annie does seem to be pushing for a little more and is a bit lonely.

Annie's luck though isn't great. She lost her cake shop, lives with brother and sister flatmates and works in a jewellery shop flogging mostly engagement rings which quite frankly she isn't great at.

Apart from all that Annie is insecure about her friendship with Lillian. Things are changing between them. Annie feels that Helen (a fellow bridesmaid) who Lillian has known a short is trying to sabotage their friendship. She steals Annie's ideas, bagging them as her own ideas and tries at any opportunity to outdo anyone else, especially Annie and ends up getting the top spot of maid of honour and Annie....well no longer required.

So as the gap widens between Annie and Lillian her life is changing. She feels likes she's losing her friend, she loses her job and goes back to live at mums, however all of the bridesmaids have a story to tell which unravels as the film progresses when we see go off on holiday together and party and so on.

However the one bit of luck she has is when she gets pulled over by officer Nathan Rhodes (Chris O'Dowd) who is an Irish police officer that pulls her over one night and from there they begin a friendship. Not used to nice boyfriends who actually give a damn about her, she just sort of disappears on him and that's it its game over...or is it? Will Annie, who has a huge bust up with Lillian just before the wedding go?

My Opinion:

Well quite frankly I am shocked that so many people love this film cos me, well I didn't. I found it to be very predictable indeed and not very original. I didn't laugh once at this romantic comedy and could see the punch lines coming up miles before delivery and the ending, well I knew after just a few minutes of watching this dull film what the outcome was going to be! The music in it was as unmemorable as the acting (in my opinion) and I really didn't enjoy this film at all sadly!

Rated 15

This review is also posted on Ciao under this same username.

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One to give a try, it may be better than you think...

Okay, so this isn't my usual pick for a film night, but I wasn't feeling my regular horror/thriller genre and wanted something a bit more cheery. I'd heard about this film and seen some relatively positive reviews so decided to try it for myself... it actually wasn't as horrendous a chick flick as I had expected!

Bridesmaids was produced by Judd Apatow as part of a Universal Pictures production, directed by Paul Feig (who has had several acting roles and a hand in directing a few bits and pieces, mostly TV-related, also). The film does what it says on the tin in the sense that the whole premise evolves from a wedding and a bunch of the bridesmaids. From that you can gather it's going to be a bit of a romantic, chick-flick style flick, with added comedy value (which may make it a 'rom-com', if you want a technical genre).

We're introduced to Annie (Kristen Wiig), a maid of honour for her best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph), who is due to get married in a few weeks. Annie hasn't got the strongest of independent lives since her self-employment venture running a cake shop turned sour. She lives with a bizarre brother and sister couple, with Matt Lucas playing Gil, but it's really not panning out ideally. In addition to that she's broke and single, hence the engagement of her best friend is hard to stomach. She's still single and needs to be happy for Lil, but she doesn't want to lose her either.

Enter the rest of the bridesmaid troop, played by Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Ellie Kemper and Wendi McLendon-Covey. Each comes with their own little quirks and relationship to Lil, though one in particular starts to rub Annie up the wrong way. Desperate to help plan the wedding and be thoughtful by doing the small, not-so-pricey touches she knows her friend will love, she's feeling dejected and angry when a fellow bridesmaid tries to steal the show, and her best friend. Obviously her connections to fabulous dress designers and her stash of cash can land some pretty good treats for Lil's wedding, and it starts to overshadow an already stressed-out Annie.

As things start to fall apart in her life, Annie comes across a police officer when she's pulled over for a broken tail light. Not realising it at first, the two start to develop a little 'thing' for each other, but things obviously go pear shaped because, hey, that's what happens in rom-coms.

I won't say any more about the plot except to say that we're taken through the proceedings of the wedding prep, the wedding itself and Annie's life and love potential. It's not particularly original and there's not really anything in the plot that I'd say was very surprising or unique.

What does make this film is its comedy value and quirky cast. Kristen Wiig is fantastic as Annie, and with many scenes focused on her as the protagonist, she's very good at drawing the audience in and being very easy to watch. Other characters were also brought to live well and were interesting and diverse to watch; I really liked Rose Bryne, though it was a shame the humour seemed to be because of her weight, as she's a great actress with a style that makes me chuckle. Chris O'Dowd actually stars as Officer Rhodes, Annie's love interest, which I thought a bit strange at first but it was good to see him included being an IT Crowd fan.

The humour wasn't always that original, in the sense that it did rely upon some generic topics, such as toilet humour when the bridesmaids get food poisoning, or getting comedy value out of someone's weight. But some of the characters, script elements and scenes were amusing in their own right, and whilst they may not have made me laugh out loud, I did find it quite light and uplifting.

The ending was as expected, though strangely not as Hollywood, sickly-sweet cliché as it could have been, which I was grateful for. The film wasn't particularly realistic, and yet the characters often were, and because of that the film still retained a sense of being grounded and believable, enabling us to identify with what was happening and get absorbed in it because it was easy to watch.

DVD released 2011, rated Certificate 15Selling on Amazon for £9.97

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A very funny comedy that deserves a universal audience.

Introduction**********I must admit to having had quite grave reservations about yet another rom-com from the genre's, invariable, production line of perpetual pap. However, as Bridesmaids came with ringing endorsements across the critical spectrum I was curious to see what all the fuss was about. Alas, I was not disappointed and its claim to being one of the year's funniest comedies was rib-ticklingly upheld. In my opinion this is achieved by some great acting,especially by Kristen Wiig, a strategically sizzling balance of characters and a sheer recurring ability to make the viewer laugh out loud. Many of the laughs are seldom wrought out of subtlety but more so from everyday 'thinking out loud' situations. It would be a crying shame if the male populace were to shirk this film on the basis of its rom-com compartmentalisation as it certainly trumps most, if not all, of the overrated male 'buddy-movie' offerings. I certainly agree with Cosmo's assertion that it is ' Better than The Hangover'.

Plot***Although not a particularly strong or original plot line the film's real strength is to be found within the journey to, rather than, the destination itself. Annie is an averagely pretty blonde who is already down on her luck. Her cake shop business opportunity has folded and her attempt to kick-start some form of love life repeatedly backfires. So all she needs is the news that her lifelong best friend, Lillian, is engaged to be married. She is given the privileged responsibility of being her maid of honour,but one senses the tinge of sadness and even inadequacy she feels at her friend's impending conjugality. These feelings are intensified when she encounters Lillian's 'new best friend' Helen, who is the wife of her husband's new boss. Helen's stunning good looks and bank balance put her well out of Annie's reach in those departments. Jealousy soon rages as the two vie for Lilian's approval. The former conspires to bring Annie down at every turn, frequently using her affluence to buy Lilian's affections and embolden their bond. However, the Green Eyed Monster has vice-gripped Annie and compelled her to a tireless resolve to put things straight. Along the way we cringe between barely parted fingers as our error-prone heroine elicits endless nervous laughs from her gargantuum gaffes! But despite Helen's superficial and inherited attributes, Annie has a remarkable, and far more noble trait, in her indomitable strength of character. But will substance prevail over style? A sub-plot intertwines the main storyline which involves Annie's on-off relationship with Irish traffic cop,Officer Nathan Rhodes. Hardly the all singing,all dancing multi-tasker befitting Shirley Conran's Superwoman profile, our Annie has enough trouble trying to address one issue at a time. Or has she?

Characters*********As you may have gathered, Annie is central to the storyline, and she is a truly inspired comedic creation. Her portrayal by Kristen Wiig is superb. Wiig co-wrote the script and this personal input has no doubt helped to embellish the performance. She is immediately set up as the underdog with her cake shop business going under, a love life with more false starts than Usain Bolt and a, hitherto, best friend now lost to marriage and, much worse, a new female 'best' friend.

Annie is also gloriously inept in her new job at Cholodecki's Jewellery store. After creating immaculate confections in her cake shop, the transition to servile sales assistant is an uneasy one. Whether she is gauche,plain bored or unable to refrain from speaking the truth her customer scare technique is definitely not one to be emulated. This inability to engage the brain, before opening her drain, leads to her losing much more than her Employee of the Year prospects! But such outspokenness is often something we can only really get away with in films and as such hands Annie all the best laughs.

Lillian,despite being the subject of the film's friction, is chiefly there as the fulcrum to the see-sawing slanging match. I did find myself infuriated by the way in which she was so gullibly led by Helen. Maybe this is due to her sense of obligation to her husband in keeping his employer sweet? Such a compromised, even sycophantic, outlook would never be entertained by Annie, who nobly attempts to repeatedly blow the floss off Helen's friendly facade.

Helen is perfectly pitched as the beautiful, if rather asinine, fly in the ointment. Her jaw-dropping good looks are eventually usurped by the ugliness of her sinister, sneaky schemes to undermine Annie. The casting is spot on here as she has to be sufficiently more physically attractive than Annie to make the storyline work. Furthermore, she needs to carry off that air of 'wealth but not much else' about her. It seems that her affluence has been acquired through marriage and, in that respect, she convinces as the heiress with the airhead.

The other bridesmaids are,by turns, amusing but none more so than the slightly rotund and riotous Megan,brilliantly played by Melissa McCarthy. She never fails to surprise as her jokey, blokey demeanour betrays a very quick mind, as evidenced by her job as a stock market trader. She also possesses a very understanding side as we see in her tough-love pep talk with Annie. We also see that she has a rampant libido -all I can say is just make sure that you have finished your tea by the time the closing credits roll!

Look out too for some fleeting appearances by Matt Lucas, of Little Britain fame, as he plays the fraternal half of a weird sibling pair, with whom Annie shares her house.

Themes*******The obvious theme to me in this film is that of jealousy, inextricably linked to friendship and loyalty. Helen is portrayed as a modern day Iago - albiet not always quite so subtle in her methods.The politics of female friendship are played out here in all their stark transparency. I have seen slightly less extreme examples of this mud-slinging amongst my wife's friends and do find that it seems, initially, puerile. However, this film kind of makes sense of it all - in that we should protect,defend and cherish our friendships. It shows that human emotions can frequently become irrational and untempered when we feel compromised or threatened.

Conclusion*********Bridesmaids proved to be a truly rewarding and surprising viewing experience. It has the potential to have universal appeal, my only hope is that it will not be overlooked by sniffy film snobs and/or the male populace. Trust me, you won't be disappointed! I felt that the ending was a little bit flat and sudden and was filled with more cheese than the Cheddar Gorge. This aside, Bridemaids is an extremely funny film.

Critical Acclaim*************The film has been extremely well received. Here are just a few snippets:

"10 out of 10. Very, very ,very funny!" Daily Star

"Pure feel good". More

"Outrageously funny" Heat

"Better than The Hangover" Cosmopolitan

"The funniest film of the year" Daily Telegraph

The film as also received 5 star ratings from the Daily Mirror, Nuts, Grazia, and Heat to name a few.

Feature Running Time******************

2 hours approx.

Bonus Features*************

Feature commentary

2 hours 5 minutes approx.This is a rather shambolic commentary by Director Paul Fieg, co-writer Annie Mumolo, and cast members Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Ellie Kemper. It comes across like a brainstorming session in a lunatic asylum as the aforementioned interject at will over the scenes. Not the most enlightening commentary I have ever watched.

Gag reel

3: 48 (minutes/seconds)The usual selection of bloopered out-takes.

Line-O-Rama

12:14 (minutes/seconds)This seems to be a rather smug and self-congratulatory selection of witty script soundbites. They may be funny in the context of the film but do not work when de-compartmentalised here. It's rather like they are laughing at their own jokes - a definite no-no in comedy.

Deleted scenes************

Blind Date with Dave

5:21 (minutes/seconds)This comprises two scenes between Annie and Dave - another doomed suitor. The first scene is all quite serious and very promising as a great deal of connectivity is struck between the pair. The restaurant scene appears to have set up the following ice-skating experience for a spectacular - and quite hilarious - nosedive! Alas the skating on ice reveals Dave's true colours as he pathetically screams over a little cut to his finger. He screams a Tourette-like torrent of abuse at all and sundry before receiving a painful comeuppance. The scene was so funny that I am about to campaign for its re-inclusion!

Bonjour

35 secondsBlink and you'll miss it. This scene features Annie opening her laptop to see footage of Lillian and Helen cycling through the streets of Paris. Dismay, regret and envy seem to consume Annie as she snaps shut the lid.

Last Chance

1:57 (minutes/seconds)Another funny scene where Annie pleads for her job back at the jewellery store with proprietor, Mr Cholodecki . Her promise to make a sale to the first customer she greets persuades him to give her the green light. The probationary period however passes with painful paucity! Before they part at the door Mr Cholodecki appraises her impromptu trial:"Not quite sure how you alienated someone with a gift certificate".Should she have any doubt about his opinion of her as an employee, then he underlines her customer scare approach by citing further past examples:"And you told those old people they should buy something cheap as they were gonna die soon!"

Cholodecki's Commercial

This is truly cringe-inducing as the aforementioned Mr Cholodecki fronts a truly tacky TV commercial for his jewellery store.

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Story of a woman, her best-friends marriage and the escapades of the bridesmaids

FILM ONLY REVIEW

I think it's fair to say that I can count the number of "chick-flicks" that I have truly enjoyed on just one hand. Re-reading that last sentence I wish to make it clear that I do not mean enjoying women in movies with my one hand, more that there hasn't been too many films falling in the "chick-flick" category that I have watched and really enjoyed. (Especially The Holiday , but that's for another review, once I can bring myself to unlock the awful memories of that film buried deep inside my mind). Last night, my faith in cinema, womankind and indeed humanity, were fully restored after watching Bridesmaids.

Ladies and gentleman (and Devilinme :) )this is a funny and enjoyable film. Written and starring Kristen Wiig, it follows Annie (Wiig) muddle her way through her best friend's wedding as a bridesmaid, along with the other bridesmaids; an eclectic bunch of women to put it mildly. The performance of Wiig absolutely blew me away.... Real first class comedic acting, and I was shocked I hadn't come across her before. A genuine talent in both writing and acting and the way she went from hilarity to thought-provoking emotional scenes proved almost effortless. The film flitted between happiness and sadness seamlessly like a host a dinner party flits between guests and a lot of credit should be attributed to the great writing of Wiig and Annie Mumulo, who provides some real laugh out loud lines and were not afraid to test the boundaries of crudeness and vulgarity without overstepping it. Credit must also go to Melissa McCarthy, playing Megan, who gave one of the best comic supporting performances I have ever seen, and like Wiig, I expect to see a lot more of her too.

Final Thoughts........The legend that is Judd Apatow was involved in the production of bridesmaids and it shows. Bridsemaids is a truly entertaining film containing a bellyful of laughs (even with my big belly) and a rollercoaster of emotions that wouldn't be out of place at Alton Towers. Some have described this as a female version of ' The Hangover'..........I can see the comparison, but I would even be so bold as to say that Bridesmaids is funnier and overall a better made, more thoughtful film.

Regardless of what genitalia you possess, this is a film I would highly recommend you go see.

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A Warm and Witty Installment in the Raunch Genre

Annie and Lilian have been best friends since childhood; the closest of the close. But when Lilian gets engaged and Annie is charged with the task of organising the wedding she is forced to face up to the issues which have been plaguing her since a financial mis-step at the beginning of the sub-prime mortgage collapse. With her own life free-falling and the impending 'loss' of her best friend, she is forced to tackle outrageous hen nights, an antagonist bridesmaid, a damaging but seductive relationship and a very real fear of flying in order to write her own happy ending.

On the run up to 'Bridesmaids' release much was made of Christopher Hitchen's article 'Why Women Aren't Funny'; an article which tried to argue, through scientific studies and personal testimony, that women cannot produce material as intrinsically hilarious as that of their male counterparts. He does concede that there are funny women, but they 'are hefty or dykey or Jewish' and are still only funny because they are funnelling their work through a male lens. Quite how he forgets visionaries like Lucille Ball or ignores the fact that two of the funniest sitcoms on air '30 Rock' and 'Parks and Recreation' are anchored by women is beyond me. But if ever there was proof needed that woman can produce balls to wall, nonstop hilarity 'Bridesmaids' would be it. It stands as a riotous, hilarious, heart-felt, witty, grotesque and moving testament to friendship, loss, inner-strength and family bonds. It is properly, rolling around on the floor hilarious, so much so that seeing it in a packed out cinema in the centre of London was one of the most fun viewing experiences I have ever had (the film almost dares you not to laugh). Each comedic set piece works, from the toilet stuff to the supremely witty, the drama is dead-on, the acting is superb and it manages to be that rarest of things; a film to please all people.

One of the things that makes it so appealing is the fact that it contains a mess of contradictions; it's aggressive in pursuit of laughs but delicate to the core, it's unexpectedly outlandish yet refreshingly small-scale and most importantly you get the sense that it's a product of genuine thought, humility and care. At its centre 'Bridesmaids' is a little story about a woman who spent her life tethering herself to sinking ships - a woman who doesn't feel she is worthy enough to anchoring onto solid foundations. It's also about food poisoning (one of the most talked about sequences in recent memory), being drugged on an airplane (one of the funniest sequences in recent memory) and one woman's fight to turn a wedding into a 'Fight Club' re-enactment. It gets the balance just right and that is why it succeeds where many others have failed; sentiment is only engaging when it's is deserved and humour is only ever truly humorous when it's based in some kind of reality. The woman at the centre of the film all feel real, at least in the sense that they are not occupying some kind of Hollywood prototype. They are sweet, rude, confident and insecure and seeing what happens to them, and how they deal with the various stumbling blocks to their own happiness, is one of the biggest pleasures of the film.

Whilst the gross-out elements of the film have garnered it a huge amount of publicity, they actually only make up a medium size percentage of the laughs; one scene in particular, involving a wedding speech 'battle', truly attacks the funny bone. It's hard to put into words just how consistently funny the film is, and even if some of the jokes don't stick (which like most comedies happens more frequently towards the conclusion) there are twenty more right around the corner. It's an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to comedy, something which is, by and large, grating - but here it works; in trying to appeal to everyone it actually succeeds. Unlike many recent raunchy comedies (The Hangover 2 I'm looking at you here) it doesn't rely on the big-scale, trailer worthy gags; without the 'big-draw' moments it would still be a witty and silly addition to the comedy roster. That doesn't mean that it always gets it right, there are plenty of character beats which don't feel correct - some of Annie's more crazy moments make her seem more deranged than the plot-line suggests and there are some really bizarre non-sequitors. Often Wiig's script makes a damning mistake; she assumes that for the audience to be on side with her main character we have to pity her - leading to some quite ludicrous dialogue and an over-reliance of self deprecating high-jinx.

However, the writing is mostly fantastic; sharp, sweet and, thankfully, wonderfully paced. It builds a sort of laid-back momentum which serves it well and builds to a genuinely satisfying conclusion which ends the central romantic conflict well and show's most of the character's learning a lesson or two. In keeping with Wiig's work on Saturday Night Live a lot of the dialogue feels improvised, natural and just plain fun. Of course, this is bolstered by some truly brilliant performances; Wiig, who is one of the most annoying players in the current SNL roster, proves herself to be a great physical comedienne and an able dramatic lead. Her free-wheeling physicality is much better placed here than in some of sketches, adding a dimension to Annie, as opposed to being the centre piece of her act. She does lean on her loose limbness a bit too much, but there is real depth to her portrayal of a woman completely lost. Maya Rudolph is characteristically wonderful, she really is one of the most professional, heart-warming presences on the comedic landscape (see her lovely performance in 'Away We Go' for extra proof). But it is Melissa McCarthy who steals the show, she is a very good comedienne; fearless in the very positive sense, confident and brimming with humanity. She puts some really interesting edges on an already well drawn character.

Can Bridesmaid's put a full stop on the insane argument over women's ability to be funny? Can it, through its sheer force of talent and will, shoulder the burden of years of secondary female comedy characters? Maybe not, and I feel very strongly that it shouldn't have to in the modern world, but it is genuinely excellent. It takes a lot of work to make something look this effortless and it is such a gracefully realised, confident gem. It a comedy with brains and hearts and, most importantly, it's a love-letter to friendships; male or female.

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The movie of this Summer!

Last night I went to to cinema to watch a movie I had been wanting to see for some time. The movie was 'Bridesmaids'.

Bridesmaids is an American romantic comedy movie which was released in the United Kingdom in June 2011. The movie is a 15 which means that it must not be viewed by persons under the age of fifteen. The movie runs at five minutes over two hours long. The film is currently showing in cinemas now.

The Plot: Meet Annie! Meet Lillian! Annie and Lillian have been best friends forever! When Lillian gets engaged, Annie couldn't be more happier and is chuffed to bits when Lillian asks her to be Maid Of Honour. However, as the wedding gets closer the bridesmaids have a lot of 'get-togethers' to discuss the wedding and also to get to know eachother. Lillian's most recent friend, the gorgeous and absolutley rich Helen is also a bridesmaid (and a brat!), and can't help but compete with Annie. Annie's life is already in a mess (she's lost her job, her fiance) and so this is the last thing she needs. Whose side will Lillian take? Will Annie be able to get back on her feet again? Watch Bridesmaids to find out!

Wow! What a movie! I really enjoyed this movie! I thought that the plot was a really good one and I also found the movie to be hilarious!

~ * So what was the verdict...? * ~

There were so many scenes in this movie which had me laughing - from the very beginning, right to the very end there is something to laugh out. The opening scene is very funny (and very rude!) and also the ending scene is also very funny (and very rude!).

~ * What about the characters...? * ~

There were some interesting characters in this film. My favourites were definetely the 'in the background' characters, such as the brother and sister and also one of the 'manly bridesmaids', Megan.

Whilst I should have felt sorry for the main character Annie (all my friends did when we watched it), I don't know why, but I just did not like the character; perhaps it was the actress that I didn't like more than the character - but she was too cocky and just annoyed me at times, so much that I didn't feel sorry for her! (I'm so mean!!)

Whilst we are on the talk of characters, whilst there were some good ones, I would have liked if there had been 'more about' the other other characters. I would have prefered if they had been given major roles rather than minor ones, as to me the minor ones were as funny (if not at times, funnier than some of the main characters).

I was suprised to see that Matt Lucas makes an appearance in this movie as I didn't know he was going to be in it when I watched it. I plays part of a brother and sister (the actress who played the sister really looked like him - so much that I wondered whether she really was his sister in real life!

I also didn't feel that I connected with any of the characters which was a shame. I like a film where you can connect with the characters, however with this movie I just felt like I was watching then (which does sound quite obvious!). By that I mean, I like to feel a part of a group of friends, not just watch them (and feel left out! haha!)

~ * How was the acting? * ~

Despite not really liking the actress who played Annie, I did think that she was a brilliant actress and had such fantastic comedy timing - she was also very comical physically as well - such as when she was trying to show the policeman (when he pulled her over because he thought that she was drunk!) that she wasn't drunk and to prove it she started doing all these fancy moves (whilst still managing to walk straight on the white line!).

The acting in this movie was very believeable - so believeable that I was actually thinking of them as real people!

~ * Was It Funny ? * ~

Oh yes! In fact I think it was probably one of the most funniest movies I have ever seen - along with the movie Knocked Up (the makers of Knocked Up actually made this movie too!)

There was so much to laugh about in this movie - so many scenes! Such scenes which stood out the most for me were definetely the scene in the 'Bridal Store!' - I was in stitches! There were so many other funny scenes although I do not want to give to much away and so I will keep it at that.

There were also some really funny quotes in this movie. Such quotes went along the lines of:

Gil: Before you make those kinds of demands you should put a note on your door that says, "Do not come into my room and read my diary and wear my clothes." andAnnie: You read my diary? Brynn: At first I did not know it was your diary, I thought it was a very sad handwritten book. andMegan: This is some classy sh-... [burp] Megan: I want to apologize. I'm not even confident on which end that came out of.

So as you can see this is a really funny movie!

~ * What else... ? * ~

The movie is very girlie which means that it makes a perfect night out with the girls. It will really make you value your friendships - whilst having a good laugh too! This is the kind of movie which really makes you smile.

I did find the movie to be quite long - which if I was watching at home on the sofa etc I wouldn't mind so much. But because the seats in my local cinema (it's very old and basic - not at all like Cineworld!) are so hard and crammed (you have no room as the people next to you are sitting on top of you and there is no room for your legs as the seats in front of you are very close!) - and so having sat like that for around two hours, I was fed up in the end - so I think it was the cinema that was the problem rather than film as the reason why I thought it was 'too long!'. (If that makes any sense!).

Although one advantage of the film being 'long' was the fact that it meant that the story wasn't rushed and so we got a proper idea about everything that was happening and also got to see the characters develop, and also see how they had got to be the characters that they were (by seeing and hearing about their backgrounds etc).

I loved the venue of the 'Wedding Shower' - it was so beautiful!!

~ * Would you watch it again...? * ~

Oh yes! Definetely! It is the kind of movie which you can watch over and over again! HOWEVER...next time I would like to be sitting somewhere more comfortable than the chair I was sat in when I watched this movie in the cinema!

~ * One Final Thing... * ~

Whilst it seems that I have made a lot of 'complaints' about this movie, they are in fact quite minor (despite there being a lot of writing). I would just like to say that despite these 'minor faults', I still really enjoyed this movie and would definetely list it under my list of favourite movies (I know, it's hard to believe right?).

Thanks for reading!July 2011Xd-o-n-z-x (also posted under xdonzx on ciao)